UNDER THE DOME Debuts to Impressive 13.1 Million Viewers for Most Watched Summer Debut Since 2007

CBS’ TV series adaptation of the Stephen King novel Under the Dome scored some impressive ratings for its series debut last night (read Allison’s recap here). The show garnered a 3.2 rating in the coveted 18-49 demo, bringing in a whopping 13.1 million total viewers. That makes it the most watched summer debut since 2007’s The Singing Bee, and CBS’ most watched summer debut since 2000’s Big Brother, which scored a now-rare 22.3 million viewers. Despite some corniness here and there, the pilot episode proved rather promising by teasing fascinating characters and a very intriguing mythology angle.

Though many disappointing Lost copycats have come and gone over the years, Under the Dome has Y: The Last Man creator Brian K. Vaughan spearheading the ship alongside showrunner Neal Baer, which bodes well for the future of the series. We’ll see how much of the first-look audience is retained for the show’s second episode next week, but Under the Dome has certainly gotten off to a solid start. If you missed our recent interview with Vaughan and Baer about the future of the series going forward, click here.

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